Protection of Workers in the Convenient Delivery Service

Abstract

The idea of a “platform economy,” which is also called “digital platform business,” “sharing economy,” and “gig economy,” makes it possible for the convenient delivery service to operate. The services involve three participants, which are the platform provider, the delivery worker, and the consumer. The person who sets up the digital platform acts as a middleman between the consumer who wants to consume something and the entrepreneur who manufactures or provides that product or service. This is done with the assistance of convenient delivery workers. Connectivity expands the potential for doing business by, for example, lowering business costs, improving service quality, and gathering data for operational development. Further, the activity also benefits consumers since it enables more convenience in living and conforms to the trend in privacy priority. As a result, the number of people using convenient delivery services has grown and become one of the most important economic drivers, giving workers an opportunity to access to work.

The worker in the convenient delivery service is usually named as a “gig worker” due to its characteristics of having no direct employer, not belonging to a specific business entity, and having freedom in working decision making. Precisely, workers are able to access and select jobs of their own intention, have flexibility in working duration, and receive fair, competent, and predictable remuneration. However, the phenomenon has directly caused an ambiguity in the legal status of the gig workers between being an employee under the hire of a service contract for the platform provider and being a worker under the hire of a work contract for the platform provider. Thus, further clarification and designation of legal rights and obligations between gig workers and platform providers are required. Finally, in order to protect gig workers, the minimum practical standard for labor rights also needs to be established.